TeamWork’s Blog

Yep. Last year at this time it was get those prices down. The worst is yet to come. Blood in the water, sharks out there….

You get the picture.

Hmmm, median prices are starting to rise, sales are way up both for condos and houses, there are buyers out there. What a difference a year makes.

Inventory is at acceptable levels. It is still a buyers market but under 250k for single family homes that situation is changing quickly.

This means sellers who have equity in their homes, have the motivation to sell now, can come away OK.

The distress sales, foreclosure and short sale, continue to keep market prices down.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Selling and listing over the past year in Sarasota and Manatee has been great.

It has everything to do with the clients we have here and clients coming in to our community.

Our team’s business for instance almost doubled from the previous year and our office saw outstanding growth.

Not every real estate firm was as fortunate but many not only survived but thrived. Here’s why.

Listing clients who wanted their homes to sell realized they needed to drop their prices and compete the distress sales.

Buying clients realized there where once in a lifetime opportunities to pick homes at bargain basement prices.

The business of real estate didn’t stop, it evolved to match the market condition.

The combination made for a lot of real estate business.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

A little bit chilly in our neck of the woods in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

But it is a whole lot chillier up in the northern states which will get a lot of people thinking about that Florida dream home.

Each shovel full of snow or bone freezing walk down the sidewalk could spark those dreams of beaches and relaxation along the warm gulf waters.

What that means for the locals is, yes, it is time now to put your home on the market if you thinking of selling this year.

The holidays are over, the arctic cold has set in and the motivated buyers shovelling snow are looking again.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

A recent report came out of the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to Bloomberg.

It said short sales tripled to 40,000 the first six months of this year compared to last year, the report said.

It appears the lenders are starting to grasp the concept of short selling as opposed to foreclosing.

The process has been a long learning curve for lenders, and the short sale procedures in many cases are still taking months and months.

We may yet get out of the woods as everyone learns we need to clean up the distress home mess before we can move forward.

Greg Owens P.A.
Realtor
Keller Williams On The water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

To all the buyers out there thinking about buying that dream home, go for it!

Take our small part of the real estate world in Palmetto and Ellenton. Want a waterfront home on the Manatee River say around 200k?

Yep. There are some.

The homes are not in the best of shape but the locations are dynamite. Whenever you can fish out of your backyard for that price you jump.

These types of foreclosures do come on the market. But they are not for the faint of heart.

First, you need to be ready willing and able to buy.

Second, you are more than likely going to be in a multiple offer situation and need to make up your mind in minutes not days.

Thirdly, the house is completely secondary to the location.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

When you go to sell your home you need to have an agent who is your consultant not just your cheerleader.

A listing agent will tell you the good, the bad and the ugly.

As a seller you need to look at the numbers. If you see that compared to other homes you have to list yours for far more than your competition you probably need to stay out of the market.

It is still all about price for the most part so if you need to sell higher than the current market will bear you are in for disappointment.

Listen to your consultant. If after that you know you can sell your home competitively by all means jump in the water. There are buyers out there.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

There is a lot of bright news in the real estate market in Manatee County.

Last month almost half the homes were distress and half were not.

The balance in a way is a good sign. Equity sellers are still out there and they are still able to sell their homes.

Homes sales are climbing and prices are not dropping like a rock.

It appears we are moving quickly towards the New Year with a lot more positive signs then we have had in the past several years.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

The federal government is saying they are going to help streamline the process for short sales.

If this is true it is much needed.

At this time buyers and sellers can end up waiting months for an answer from a lender about a short sale.

Even after that the lender can counter or ask for the seller to sign a note. Both items can quickly end any deal.

Short sales are going to be around a very long time particularly in Florida where a large number of homes are worth far less than what owners paid for them.

Anything anyone can do to quicken what is often a very frustrating process is welcome news.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

OK, the latest housing market statistics are out.

And according to a story in the Sarasota Herald Tribune single family homes sales were up 50 percent in Sarasota and Manatee counties compared to last year.

The median home price fell 9 percent to $154,500 from $169,000 from a year ago. The October price declined 5.7 percent from $164,000 in September, according to the paper.

Condo sales were up 120 percent from the same time last year. The price was down compared to a year ago but increased compared to September. The median price last year was $212,500 and this year $152,800. In September the median price was $134,800.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
Cell: 941.932.6343
Office: 941.729.7400
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworkfla.com

Now you might think beach front would retain its value in any market.

We have clients who go around the world looking for beach front property.

The sugar white sand, the lap of the Gulf of Mexico or some other body of water is pretty alluring to a lot of people.

Interestingly enough I have seen beach front property drop from more than $1 million for close to or around 100 feet on the Gulf of Mexico to almost half that in price.

It is just sand but there is only so much of that sand you can even build on in our region.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com